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The Top 10 British Sitcoms

Hilarious, farcical … dark: The funniest things to come out of UK telly

By Matty LongPublished 2 years ago 10 min read
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I love British comedy. I like how it is very self-deprecating, love the farcical nature of it as a metaphor for the hardships of life and even love the subtler aspects of British humour like wordplay. I’ve counted down my favourite examples of the best way of representing this type of humour: the sitcom. Obviously, there may be some glaring omissions (I’ve never seen the original Office) but this is based on what I’ve seen.

10. Not Going Out

Many of the shows I’ve picked on here involve intricate character development, plot and storylines. ‘Not Going Out’ doesn’t really offer any of these. But it is an abundance of that other staple of British comedy - wordplay. Like many sitcoms, they dragged it out too long, with creator Lee Mack’s (underrated comedian) character now married with a family, changing the direction of the show from the slacker and the girl he likes. Admittedly, even the very first series wasn’t very good. But when it featured Tim Vine and Miranda Hart, it really was the funniest thing on telly.

Best episode: Party (s3/e4) When Lee is snooping through Lucy’s phone looking for her mystery boyfriend, he plays it off as they were trying to organise a surprise party for her, leading to an annoyed Lucy, who now decides to actually find a boyfriend, and nothing going right for Lee.

9. The IT Crowd

‘Father Ted’ co-creator Graham Linehan, before going a little bit mad in his devotion to anti-trans activism, wrote this show, an incredibly British perspective on the ‘Big Bang Theory’ type of humour. It’s not as good as ‘Ted’ but that’s Irish so doesn’t qualify. However, it features enough of the same irreverent humour, farcical storylines and brilliantly-played characters to make the final cut.

Best episode: Are We Not Men? (s3/e2) Moss’s use of the “bluffball” website to talk to men about sports backfires when Roy decides to take its use to the next level and try and befriend some actual men down the pub, resulting in the nerds being way out of their depth.

8. I’m Alan Partridge

Steve Coogan’s take on inept broadcasters has existed in copious forms now, but my favourite has to be this sitcom, which shows Alan trying to get his life together after being thrown out by both the BBC and his wife, living in a “travel tavern,” working the graveyard shift at local radio and having no friends except Michael the weird Geordie who works at the hotel. It’s the epitome of that incredibly incredibly bleak British life, but that’s what makes it so funny. I think everybody sees a bit of themselves in Alan, despite how ridiculous he is.

Best episode: To Kill a Mocking Alan (s1/e5) Alan’s attempts to impress some Irish producers (incidentally, played by ‘Father Ted’ creators Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews) fail miserably as ever, but when he is too afraid to admit he lives in the travel tavern he must resort to passing off his unhinged number one fan as his housemate, even though the house has only the one chair …

7. Only Fools and Horses

Seems to draw a lot of ire these days for some people, but I don’t know why. Yes, it did go on too long. In fact, I think there could be a rule in sitcoms that as soon as they start getting married, the wheels start to drop off. But at its basic premise, this show was a look at the most marginalised in British society doing their best to get by. I think John Sullivan was actually a brilliant writer and his characters developed thoroughly. Words and phrases from the show, such as ‘plonker’ have entered the British vernacular. It isn’t the most watched comedy show in British history for no reason.

Best episode: Big Brother (s1/e1) I know it’s the pilot but I actually think this is a great episode. It has Rodney’s failed ambition to escape, Del’s plans going horrendously wrong, Grandad’s well-meant ineptitude and some of the funniest one liners in the series. A welcome introduction.

6. Dad’s Army

A real throwback here, ‘Dad’s Army’ depicts the farcical adventures of the ‘Home Guard’ during the Second World War, the reserve army made up of those too elderly to fight. This was a real thing, that writer Jimmy Perry served in, and through the different characters we get a great and hilarious insight into British class, culture and society. Captain Mainwaring, the inept leader, with his illusions about his own abilities and importance, is truly one of the best examples of the tragic British comedy character, forever stopped from finding fulfilment in his life by his own incompetence and that of those around him, and forever jealous of his laid-back and happier Sgt. Wilson.

Best episode: Mum’s Army (s4/e9) I like it when comedy that doesn’t always border more on the tragic side likes to hit you right in the feels a bit, as with this episode of Dad’s Army, where Mainwaring believes he’s found a kindred spirit, but of course it can never be.

5. Rising Damp

Now for something a little different. Far too few people have ever heard of this 1970s sitcom about a miserable, self-regarding and nosy landlord and his tenants in a decrepit Victorian house in Yorkshire. Like Mainwaring, Rigsby has a degree of self-importance that is beset by his own actions. Except I think the ludicrous nature of everyone around him is more subtle in this show. Spinster Miss Jones and virginal student Alan are both tragic in their own way, where as “African Prince” Philip is the one character who has the last laugh at Rigsby’s stupidity and expense. It’s truly a hidden gem, and whilst incredibly dated, it never gets old.

Best episode: The Permissive Society (s2/e1) Rigsby lectures Alan about his disgust at the aftermath of the sexual revolution, before he decides he might have to embrace it to woo Miss Jones. This of course backfires massively when it transpires that neither Rigsby or Alan have a clue as to the best way to impress women. This is probably one of my favourite episodes of any sitcom ever.

4. Peep Show

Back to a more modern sitcom, ‘Peep Show’ is one of the weirdest, most original and utterly brilliant television programmes of all time. Filmed in a PoV perspective and with internal monologues telling us the lead characters’ thoughts, we are offered a unique way to explore the same British humour that so many of these sitcoms do, but just couldn’t push these boundaries because of when they were made. Exploring the day to day life of two losers, “work-shy freeloader” Jeremy and “tight-fisted cockmuncher” Mark, it has its roots in films like ‘Withnail and I’ and the core themes are the same as something like ‘I’m Alan Partridge’ with tragic characters still thinking theres hope that they’ll get out of the incredibly incredibly bleak routine in which they find themselves, but it’s just that much more brilliant because of its PoV style.

Best episode: Jeremy makes it (s2/e2) An episode where things seem to go well for both Mark and Jeremy. Jeremy might have found some musical success and Mark’s made a friend. Unfortunately, Gog and Daryl, the characters responsible for these events, aren’t quite what they seem, and things quickly turn ridiculous. I still can’t get over the fact that the two best one-off characters in the whole series appear in the same episode.

3. Still Game

The only Scottish show on my list, but one that has a place near the top, Still Game is one of the most wholesome and hilarious things ever to come out of Scotland. Probably the most hilarious. Another show that explores the bleak and mundane everyday, it follows Jack and Victor, two working class old-age pensioner widowers living in the dingy council estate of Craiglang in Glasgow. I think what I love about ‘Still Game’ is it manages to combine the subtler, darker humour of things like ‘I’m Alan Partridge’ or ‘Peep Show’ with the light-hearted, wordplay type humour of something like ‘Not Going Out.’ But what makes it so brilliant is just how relatable it often is to real life; there’s a very realistic, and often very dark, streak through this sitcom which is both funny and tragic at once. Watching it genuinely does feel sometimes like you’ve visited your local and chatted to some of the elderly punters who are grateful for the company. And that’s great.

Best episode: Scones (s1/e5) Tight-fisted Tam seems to be winning all the competitions, prompting Jack and Victor to chance their arm. Unfortunately, they just haven’t got what Tam has, but it’s hilarious watching them grow more frustrated as they try their best.

2. One Foot in the Grave

I’d heard about this programme before I watched it, and I expected it to be something quite different to what it is. It’s described by many as the trials and tribulations of a grumpy old man, Victor Meldrew. It sounds very straightforward. But it’s so much more than that. It combines the irreverence of something like ‘The IT Crowd,’ the dark humour of something like ‘Peep Show’ and the relatability of something like ‘Still Game’ to create, in a sitcom, an absolute artistic masterpiece. Victor Meldrew really is the best portrayal I think, of a man who everyone thinks is inept, yet, as we see everything from his perspective, it is everyone else who is inept. It’s no wonder Peter Dinklage modelled his voice for the brilliant and misunderstood Tyrion Lannister on the character. It is tragic, outlandish, brilliantly written by David Renwick and acted by the cast, most of all the incredible Richard Wilson, but most of all again, absolutely hilarious.

Best episode: Dramatic Fever (s2/e3) Farcical to a hilarious degree as Victor and Margaret navigate crossed wires and confusion when Margaret joins the local amateur dramatic society, but the subplot about Victor writing a screenplay is evidence of the more tragicomic, and quite heart-wrenching nature of this show.

1. Fawlty Towers

Number one really needs no discussion. John Cleese’s hotelier Basil Fawlty maybe just another Mainwaring, or Alan Partridge, or Rigsby, forever despairing at the inadequacy of his colleagues and customers whilst oblivious to his own shortcomings, but in these 12 episodes we find the very best of British comedy. It’s the same farcical situations and ridiculous characters as so many other British sitcoms, but it’s just so bloody good. I think it’s just because no other sitcom character quite reaches their boiling point in the same way that Basil so frequently reaches his, being driven to the edge constantly as he strives and strives to be a member of a more respectable class, ironically, as ever, with the very people he admires often finding him the most ridiculous. I think it’s funny, too, because anybody who’s either worked with difficult customers or had to deal with poor customer service can relate to it so much. And that, after all, is most of us. Except we in the UK try not to make a fuss … until we reach boiling point.

Best episode: The Kipper and the Corpse (s2/e4) A dead guest might seem like Basil’s dream-come-true, especially when the guest in question didn’t even bother to say goodnight to him the night before, but as it transpires it may not be good for business. Watching Basil and Manuel haplessly try and hide the body around the hotel is hilarious and it seems to be the situation that finally leads Basil to crack. Perfect black comedy.

comedy
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About the Creator

Matty Long

Jack of all trades, master of watching movies. Also particularly fond of tea, pizza, country music, watching football, and travelling.

X: @eardstapa_

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